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How does a stethoscope work?

When you go to the doctor, he or she probably uses a stethoscope to listen to your heart and maybe also your lungs or your abdomen (belly). But how does this special device work?

Stethoscopes work like speakers for doctors: They amplify (make louder) the sounds inside your body to give them a better idea of what’s going on in there! Have you ever looked at the way a stethoscope is made? On one end are earpieces that go in the doctor’s ears. Coming down from the earpieces are hollow tubes that connect at the end to the special piece the doctor places against the patient’s body, known as the “diaphragm” or the “bell.”

The diaphragm or the bell has the important job of collecting all of the vibrations happening inside the patient’s body and sending them up through the stethoscope’s hollow tubes and into the earpieces! These vibrations are what our ears recognize as sounds, and so the doctor can listen to what’s happening inside using just a simple stethoscope! COOL!